On the other hand, occasionally there is some good news. Brian Jacobs’ article in Media Village on the progress brands are making in the transparency controversy with media buying agencies is heartening.

All this is why professionals responsible for advertising and marketing law and policy practices should attend the ANA Annual Advertising Law & Public Policy Conference in Washington, DC on March 14–16, 2018.

Some key highlights of the conference are:

On Wednesday, March 14 at 2 p.m. there will be a special ANA Legal Affairs Committee Meeting. The agenda will feature, among others, Jason Gordon of Reed Smith, covering “Enforcement Policies of the FTC for 2018” and Kate O’Brien, discussing “FTC Endorsement Guidelines and Best Practices When Partnering With Influencers and Endorsers in Social Media.”

On Thursday, March 15 at 10:40 a.m. Keri Bruce and Theresa Craparo will be on a panel titled “Transparency 2.0 – Looking Beyond Rebates and Production Transparency To Data.”

On Friday, March 16 at 8 a.m. Doug Wood will be participating on a panel “Monetizing Content: Brands as Producer” and at 3:05 p.m. he’ll be moderating an ethics panel.